Common Error: Not making solid contact with the ball
Cause: 1. When hitting a ground stroke, not using a backswing and/or follow-through.
Correction: As you see the ball coming towards you, take your paddle back into a ready position. Don’t wait until the last minute. After contacting the ball, follow through with your hitting arm in the direction of the intended flight of the ball. Concentrate on doing this on every hit from the end line.
Cause: 2. Not getting into the proper position on the court in relationship to the ball when hitting ground strokes. The distance that you are from the ball should allow you to swing freely at the ball with your arm in a partially extended position. As your arm is swinging forward, your body weight should shift from the rear foot to your forward foot. Shifting your weight into the hit allows you to apply more force to the hit.
Correction: If you feel cramped when contacting the ball, overexagerrate on the next hit and make yourself stand so far away from the ball that you think there’s no chance of contacting it. Chances are that you will then be in the perfect position! If you are so far away from the ball that you contact it close to the edge of the paddle, overexaggerate on the next hit and make yourself move into what you perceive as being too close. If you’re then able to make a solid contact of the ball, you then know that that’s the best position for you to assume when contacting the ball with a ground stroke. YouTube is great source of practical videos about different situations in Pickleball. There are quite a few YouTube Pickleball Lessons available. Practicing can be done with someone “soft-tossing” the ball to you. That person should stand between you and the net but off to the hitting side and toss the ball to you with an underhand motion.
